First published in the US 1994 by Fireside, and in the UK 1994 by Sidgwick &
Jackson. Revised edition of ‘The Book of Rock Lists’ published in 1981 by
Duke & Duchess Ventures Inc. All text taken in edited form from the book.
Edited by Dave Marsh & James Bernard.

The book contains hundreds of lists, I’ve only included here some of them.
The more esoteric ones really need the text alongside the list. eg: 10 Ways
to Tell if a Rapper’s Career is on the Way Out; Malcolm McLaren’s 10 Lessons
of Rock Success; etc, etc. I’ve used headings that are named after the
chapters. Several lists are included from some chapters and none from
others.

1. Like a Rolling Stone
2. Visions of Johanna
3. Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues (live version: B-side of ‘I Want You’)
4. All Along the Watchtower
5. When the Ship Comes in
6. I Want You
7. Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll
8. Stuck Inside a Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again
9. A Hard Rain’s Gonna Fall
10. Subterranean Homesick Blues
11. Mr Tambourine Man
12. I Shall be Free #10
13. I Don’t Believe You (live version – electric)
14. Every Grain of Sand
15. I Shall be Released
16. Ballad of a Thin Man
17. Tangled Up in Blue
18. Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door
19. Most Likely You Go Your Way
20. If You Gotta Go, Go Now
21. Blind Willie McTell
22. She’s Your Lover Now
23. When I Paint My Masterpiece
24. You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere

1. Divided Soul: the Life of Marvin Gaye – David Ritz
2. Chuck Berry: the Autobiography – Chuck Berry
3. ‘Scuse Me While I Kiss the Sky: the Life of Jimi Hendrix – David
Henderson
4. Before I Get Old: the Story of The Who – Dave Marsh
5. Big Beat Heat: Alan Freed & the Early Years of Rock & Roll – John Jackson
6. Dance with the Devil: the Rolling Stones & Their Times – Stanley Booth
7. Standing in the Shadows of Motown: the Life & Music of Legendary Bassist
James Jamerson – Dr Lix (Alan Slutsky)
8. Brother Ray – Ray Charles & David Ritz
9. Elvis & Gladys – Elaine Dundy
10. As Nasty as They Wanna Be: the Uncensored Story of the 2 Live Crew –
Luther Campbell & John R. Miller
11. Route 666: On the Road to Nirvana – Gina Arnold
12. James Brown – James Brown & Bruce Tucker

1. Born to Run
2. Thunder Road
3. Badlands
4. Incident on 57th Street
5. Darkness on the Edge of Town
6. Growin’ Up
7. Reason to Believe
8. If I Should Fall Behind
9. Backstreets
10. River, the
11. Tunnel of Love
12. Independence Day
13. For You
14. Dancing in the Dark
15. Nebraska
16. Glory Days
17. Fourth of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)
18. Because the Night
19. Rosalita
20. Soul Driver

1. Every Breath You Take
2. Bed’s Too Big Without You
3. Every Little Thing She Does is Magic
4. Spirits in the Material World
5. King of Pain
6. De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da
7. So Lonely
8. Wrapped Around Your Finger
9. Walking on the Moon
10. Don’t Stand So Close to Me

1. Power Fantastic (c1986)
2. Noon Rendezvous (1984)
3. Crystal Ball (c1986-87)
4. Can I Play With You (c1985)
5. Case of You (live First Avenue, MI 1983)
6. Camille (unreleased album project c1986)
7. Black Album (unreleased album project at the time of this book, now
available)

Reginald C Dennis’s 25 Musical Turning Points of
Rap’s Old School

Music editor of hip hop magazine, The Source. Roughly chronological order
1979-85.

J.D. Considine is a bassist and critic whose work has appeared in Rolling
Stone, Musician, Request, Playboy, the Washington Post & a host of
now-defunct music magazines. He is currently pop music critic at the
Baltimore Sun.

1. Let’s Take it to the Stage (Funkadelic)
2. Mothership Connection (Parliament)
3. Standing on the Verge of Getting It on (Parliament)
4. Funkentelechy Vs the Placebo Syndrome (Parliament)
5. One Nation Under a Groove (Funkadelic)

3. Led Zeppelin: A “jaded group of occult thrill seekers” with a “catalog of
dismal, melancholy dirges and hyped up, Heavy Metal sex operas”.

4. Mötley Crüe: “A ragtag gang of foul mouthed and vulgar fornicators who
openly brag of their detestable lifestyles… “.
5. Kiss: “Not Content with the millions of dollars already stolen from an
innocent fandom consisting mainly of thirteen year old girls, Kiss is still
far from fading into the Rock & Roll trash heap”.

6. Twisted Sister: “(B)latant, ultra-macho, animalistic, ‘I’ll Kick you
teeth in’ attitude combined with a sexual preference that is anybody’s
guess,” “one of the weirdest, sickest, and most dangerous of the 80’s
Slime-Rock groups”.

Riding a Stairway to Perdition: Records Accused of
Satanic Backmasking

These examples come from the following books, all written by good
Christians: Rock’s Hidden Persuaders – The Truth About Backmasking by Dan
and Steve Peters; The Devil’s Disciples – the Truth About Rock by Jeff
Goodwin; and Backward Masking Unmasked by Jacob Aranza. (All of these books
can be obtained at your local fundamentalist bookseller or other purveyor of
fanatic wares). No credible academic study places any credence in the idea
that passages recorded backward are somehow tumbled forward in the human
brain and subliminally absorbed as commands to do certain things, whether to
worship the devil, buy more popcorn or kill oneself.

Quotes are what the record is supposed to have concealed. According to these
people. Always thought ELO were evil, just not quite in this way! - Ed.

1. Another One Bites the Dust – Queen
“Start to smoke marijuana, start to smoke marijuana”

2. Anthem – Rush
“Communications with the Devil” “Oh Satan, you are the one who is shining.
Walls of Satan, Walls of Sacrifice. I Know it’s you are the one I love”

27. Stairway to Heaven – Led Zeppelin
“Here’s to my sweet Satan” “No other made a path, for it makes me sad, whose
power is Satan” “There was a little child born naked… Now I am Satan” “I
will sing because I live with Satan”

28. Tops – Rolling Stones
“I love you said the Devil”

29. Young Americans – David Bowie
(Bowie apparently purchased “a record player to play records backward
because he believes songs on his Young Americans album resemble Tibetan
spiritualistic chants”)

30. You’re Not the One – Blue Oyster Cult
“Our father, who are in Heaven, Satan” (How could Satan be in heaven?)

Note: “The Grateful Dead do not appear on this list because they have,
instead, been awarded a special citation by the authors for their entire
oeuvre, all of which is pretty near terminally boring”.

There are lots and lots more lists in the book, some are to esoteric to
bother with, some have dated badly since the book’s publication. But they’re
mainly not here, because my hands hurt from typing the ones I’ve done!! Ed.